Kiwi Rocket Scares Sheep, Reaches Space

A small, private company launched New Zealand’s first rocket into space to cheers from about 50 people gathered on a small island off the country’s coast.

As the noise of the blastoff sent sheep running, the 18-foot rocket raced into the sky, reaching beyond the Kármán line, 100 kilometers (62 miles) above the Earth’s surface, which is traditionally considered the dividing altitude between the upper atmosphere and real space.

The Atea-1, named after the Maori word for space, was built by Rocket Lab. It’s the first privately built rocket launched from the Southern Hemisphere to reach space.

“It’s not trivial sending something into space,” Mark Rocket, Rocket Lab director and former internet entrepreneur, told local media. “This is a huge technological leap for New Zealand.”

After the sub-orbital vehicle entered space, it turned back toward Earth and splashed down. The Rocket Lab team is currently trying to locate the rocket, which was expected to fall into the Pacific Ocean about 30 miles northeast of Great Mercury Island, a privately owned resort and the rocket’s takeoff point.

If you happen to be in the area and see the payload, don’t go scooping it up, Rocket Lab warned through its Twitter feed.

“IMPORTANT: Marine traffic in the Coromandel, do not recover payload, it contains delicate scientific instruments & is potentially hazardous,” the Lab wrote. “If found please mark the payload location, and relay the GPS coordinates to Rocket Lab ASAP.”

The Atea-1 is unusually light and small. Including propellant, the 18-foot rocket weighs less than 150 pounds. It’s built largely from carbon-fiber composites and its 30-pound engine generates thrust equivalent to 3,200 horsepower. The Atea can take payloads of up to about four and a half pounds.

By comparison, an Atlas V rocket weighs 1.2 million pounds and can carry payloads of 65,000 pounds to low-earth orbit.